Line: Michigan State -5.5, Total: 126.5 (current NCAA Tournament spreads and totals)
Georgia Record 21-11 ATS 19-11-1 OVER/UNDER 14-13-1 Overview: You’ll be hard pressed to find a team that covers the spread at Georgia’s pace. It gets even better when the Dawgs are dogs – they’re 10-3-1 when catching points this season. They closed the season on a 5-2 SU run, the losses coming to mighty Kentucky by single digits and by 11 points to Arkansas in the SEC tournament. This is Georgia’s first NCAA appearance since 2011.
Team page: Georgia Bulldogs
Michigan State Record: 23-11 ATS: 18-16 OVER/UNDER: 19-13-1 Overview: Michigan State covered seven of its last nine-regular season games before suffering a pair of unfortunate spread losses in the Big Ten tourney – one came as 7-point dogs in OT in the finals to Wisconsin, the other on a late, meaningless 3-pointer by Maryland in a 62-58 win as 4.5-point favorites vs. Maryland. Under Tom Izzo, the Spartans are 11-6 ATS in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. In terms of the total, six of Sparty’s last seven games this season have gone OVER the total.
Team page: Michigan State Spartans
Handicapping tools: Matchup analysis | Power ratings | ATS standings
The Linemakers’ lean: With Izzo at the helm, Michigan State is always dangerous in the Big Dance. But this is a lot of points to give a tough Georgia squad, so we’ll just sit and watch what promises to be an intriguing game. No lean here.
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h/t OddsShark for historical ATS data
